Craziness overload

My girl Rapunzel and I
 (Yes I cry every time I meet her)

           Wow! I have not blogged in so long! There has been so much craziness going on.  I started and ended my first semester of college, my brother had multiple surgeries, I met my best friend and she moved, I got a new puppy and we had our 6th annual commemoration day! I'm going to try my best to catch up on my life.  Hmmm, where to start...

Tiki and I in Oklahoma!

           My first semester of college was terrifying!  When my mom dropped me off, I cried and continued crying for the next week or so.  It was a rough transition and everyone who knows me knows that I do not handle change well.  For months I slept with my mom up until the first night I was alone in my dorm room with strangers that soon turned into friends.  I was nervous to meet my roommates because I didn't know if I would get along with them, etc.  Little did I know I'd meet my best friend.  During this first semester I made friends and lost some, made spontaneous decisions that turned into regrets--but hey, that's apart of life.  I made a weekend trip home pretty much every weekend because I missed my mom and family so much.  I was able to get a Disney pass because Disney is so close to my school and I'm not over-exaggerating when I say it truly is the most magical place.  I met my favorite, Rapunzel, and every time I go to Disney, I feel like a little kid.  This is important to me because I never had a childhood so I was so excited to go when I got the chance.

Disney dates with Becca!

           This second semester started out rough because my best friend moved back to Oklahoma--which I was thankfully able to make a trip to see her over Christmas break.  Tiki, my best friend, has been there for me since I met her.  At first I was intimidated by her and now I look back and wonder why.  She gets free airfare because her mom works for an airline and so she is able to fly and see me whenever! (Thank goodness).  Even though she moved away,  I started getting close with another one of my friend's and we made a little 'made up' family...as weird as that sounds.  haha.  Becca has been my "mom" on campus and has made sure I've been okay, especially when I was sick for the whole month of February. From Disney dates, to child abuse walks, Greys anatomy weekly nights, to becoming the '5th roommate', to just being there when I need to talk, Becca has made this semester so much easier. I'm so thankful for the lifetime friends I have made that have turned into family.

Brudder and I before the
Christmas Eve service

           My first day of college did not turn out how I expected.  My brother had his first of many surgeries on my first day.  He had spinal surgery because he had kyphoscoliosis.  This means that his spine was curved as well as a hunchback.  After the first initial surgery, my brother ended up getting a nasty infection and had to go back into surgery to get cleaned out...this soon had to be done every other day so he was in the hospital for the whole first semester of school.  Pretty much every weekend I would drive home and the drive another hour to Ft Myers to go see my brother in the hospital.  My brother and I have a super close relationship so it was so hard seeing him in the hospital in so much pain.  My brother's nurses were so nice and caring towards my brother and he was treated like royalty.  My brother not only made an impact on the nurses lives, but mine as well.  Seeing how strong he was was so impacting and even to this day he still just as strong or even stronger.  My brother had to have a wound vac on for a while and he was able to come home.  Now he is home and has the wound vac off.  He is able to go to school occasionally but whenever he is in too much pain, he has a home bound teacher come out that helps him with school and catches him up on what all he has missed.  After the surgery is gained about two inches! He is now so much taller than me but I still see him as my baby brudder.

Gracie's first time at the dog beach

            Fast forward a little bit to March.  This month has been harder this year than it has been in a while.  March 4 is the month when I told about my dad and he was taken away on March 5th.  This year, my best friend came down and brought me an early birthday present...a PUPPY!!  Apparently Tiki and my mom has been talking about the dog for weeks and she brought the puppy down.  We snuck her into the dorms and the drove her down to Port Charlotte.  My mom named her Gracie, an 8 week old shepherd/husky mix.  My mom felt like Gracie is the perfect name for her because of the time of month and everything we have been through etc.  My mom felt that it was important for me to have something positive for me to have control over because while my dad was around, I had no control over anything.  She was right! I fell in love with Gracie as soon as I met her.  She's my little baby and she came into my life at the perfect time!!  I'm sad that while I'm away at college, she has to stay home but my mom has been sending me pictures of her everyday and letting me know how she is doing.  I am counting down the days until spring break because that means I am able to see her all the time.  I took her to the dog because the other day and she LOVED it!